The Way Out Is Through

by Viari

Ben Skywalker has lost so many people to war, and still he survives. (AU, 42-51 ABY. Drama, angst, action, some horror. Features Ben, Mara, Leia, Han, Tahiri, Jaina, Jag, Wedge, and several other ECs & OCs. Major character deaths ahead. Vignette/ficlet/drabble collection in my Enter!verse; prequel to "Enter the Foreign".)

6. Survivor

Notes: Next up is the 200 Freestyle (a 200-word story about your character with any theme). We're moving forward to 46 ABY, and by now the One Sith have made several incursions into the Inner Rim and are making a push to the Core. And hey, my title isn't a quote this time.

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VI. "Survivor" | 46 ABY | 200 Freestyle

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He's not sure he can ever forgive himself for missing the Battle of Corellia, even if, in the end, he wouldn't have made any difference at all.

In one of their hidden enclaves, the Jedi huddle around the holotransceiver, watching the live reports of the battle. Names of the dead roll in, names he has heard since childhood, Corellian heroes both young and old. Myn Donos and Garm Bel Iblis and Corran Horn – Valin and Jysella had gone pale an hour earlier when it happened – and so many others.

But the final blow comes when a Sith strike team infiltrates the command ship and executes Admiral Antilles, broadcasting it live via HoloNet.

Ben steeples his hands in futile prayer, watching as Wedge stares his executioner in the eyes. "If you think I'm trouble," he says with a smile, "just wait until you meet my daughters."

The Sith Lord swings once; the other Jedi shy from the sight, but Ben refuses to look away.

Corellia falls, but not before Syal Antilles and her sister Myri manage to lead a large-scale evacuation. On their way out, they launch a dying Galactic-class battle carrier into the enemy's flagship, killing every Sith on board.